Archive for May, 2009

As I write this, the whole of Ireland are roasting their pasty white bodies in the all too rare sunshine. We might as well take advantage of all this good weather, we know it’s not going to last! My neighbours would kick up a stink if I put a barbecue on my balcony, so I celebrated the arrival (and departure?) of summer by making some home-made lemonade. Needless to say, it’s vastly superior to any rubbish you’d buy in the shops. Continue reading »

Such an amazingly beautiful weekend in Dublin. The sky seems so high, and our tiny garden is saturated with searing light, great for my freckles, not so great for my poor spinach which seems to be suffering heatstroke!
I am dragging my hungover self out the door on a spontaneous road trip to the midlands for icy drinks and great company, leaving behind the fabulous Maritime Festival on the Docks and Bloom, both of which are in amazing form this year, having briefly looked in on both. Continue reading »

Cork – Eating & Drinking – Pubs & Bars – Bars
SOHO WHAT? SO GOOD
Downtown Saturday about six. Started at Lapps Quay to see the tailend of the annual Ocean to City Rowing event. Quite a buzz, a few hundred people, bars and restaurants busy and food stalls doing a roaring trade. We had to leave the food as we were heading for the Soho Bar & Restaurant.
Called into the Clarion to show my advisor the Atrium. Continue reading »

You say you’ve never heard of ‘healthified‘ before? Maybe you’re right–I think I made it up somewhere along my quest of making food healthier, or as I like to say, ‘healthifying food’. You just watch–those words will one day be a part of our everyday vocabulary and yours truly coined them. That’s Hot! Continue reading »

When I saw that somebody had used the search terms “Potato Mc Shake” and ended up at The Daily Spud, I knew that it was time to revisit my potato shake, before the giants of the fast food industry stole my thunder.
So I boldly returned to where only I (to the best of my knowledge) had boldly gone before and went back to work on the spud shake formula, enlisting a few skeptical guinea pigs to sample the results.
In the end, there wasn’t that much to it. Continue reading »

I made this dish today because I had a few spuds to use up. It’s excellent, just some cubed potatoes slow-fried with whole spices. The recipe is adapted slightly from Nigella Lawson’s “How to Eat”. The secret is to season well and make sure you fry the potatoes as slowly as possible so that they don’t break up. Continue reading »

Let’s not make a Shiraz of Syrah. They are the same grape, taking the name from the city of Shiraz in Iran, where wine flowed freely for many years before the Prophet Muhammad laid out his cards in the 6th century. Generally labelled Shiraz in Australia and Syrah in France, there is a huge worldwide following for this noble grape variety.
Expect deeply coloured wines with medium or high levels of tannins and acidity. Shiraz is a medium to full bodied wine (again, think of that water vs. Continue reading »

Whenever I am in town, I pay Austin in Bubble Brothers a visit (will of course avoid him in the next few days as Man Un lost in the final and I don’t really want to look at his smirk). The last time I was there, the Prodigo (Alessandro Speri is originally from Verona in Italy but moved to Mendoza in Argentina in 2002) called me to take it home – and I am the type of person who listens to the voices. Continue reading »

California’s booming blueberry business – An unlikely producer of blueberries is in the ranks to becoming a top U.S. blueberry producer. Decades ago, blueberries could only grow in Northern climates but scientific advances in California have allowed for crop growth in the Southern state.
A dark comeback – Due to the economic state, dark chicken meat is making a comeback in popularity because it’s less expensive than white meat. Continue reading »

This is a light, tasty salad that I make variations of all throughout the year, substituting different seasonal vegetables for the broccoli and green beans. It is a great salad to bring to a barbecue, to serve as a starter or to serve along side your main meal with some slight variations. Continue reading »

This is a light, tasty salad that I make variations of all throughout the year, substituting different seasonal vegetables for the broccoli and green beans. It is a great salad to bring to a barbecue, to serve as a starter or to serve along side your main meal with some slight variations. Continue reading »

Hi I’m Rachel (the one who you never see because I’m always in the kitchen!) and I would like to share my passion with you for healthy food that tastes great and doesn’t cost the earth. In Organico Café our aim is to provide tasty, healthy food that is really good for you (and to serve it along side indulgent treats to comfort and spoil you). There is a very important link between the food you eat and the way you look and feel. Continue reading »

Hi I’m Rachel (the one who you never see because I’m always in the kitchen!) and I would like to share my passion with you for healthy food that tastes great and doesn’t cost the earth. In Organico Café our aim is to provide tasty, healthy food that is really good for you (and to serve it along side indulgent treats to comfort and spoil you). There is a very important link between the food you eat and the way you look and feel. Continue reading »

For espresso lovers out there, I have posted a Coffee Kahlua ice cream flavour, but I wanted to put up another coffee ice cream recipe – one that doesn’t require an espresso machine and is a real classic. Coffee and whiskey are a great combination, and this is an homage to Joe Sheridan and his invention at Foyne’s, the precursor to Shannon Airport. Continue reading »

This week we offered one of our best giveaways ever: a two-night break in Renvyle House Hotel. There’s still a few minutes left to enter, so go for it! The winner will be announced on Tuesday, so don’t forget to check back to see if you’re one of the lucky ones.
We discussed alcohol sales, gruesome… Continue reading »

This week we offered one of our best giveaways ever: a two-night break in Renvyle House Hotel. There’s still a few minutes left to enter, so go for it! The winner will be announced on Tuesday, so don’t forget to check back to see if you’re one of the lucky ones.
We discussed alcohol sales, gruesome… Continue reading »

M&S have a number of special offers on at the moment, one of which caught my eye there yesterday – four fresh trout fillets for €5. The trout looked really fresh and is sustainably fished. I’ve always found the fish at M&S to be very good.
Trout makes a perfect simple easy dinner if you… Continue reading »

Continuing our series on your top frugal cooking tips, today we’re highlighting some of the best simple, home cooking tips from our readers. Please feel free to add your own!
From Geraldine:
Freeze your chillies – wash, remove all of the stem and freeze. Ue them whole from the freezer or thaw in boiled water. Homemade chilli… Continue reading »

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This November The Great Irish Bake is back and Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan is helping out with sharing recipes and promoting the event. The Great Irish Bake is in aid of helping sick and seriously ill children get the treatment they need. Head over to The Great Irish Bake to register online and be in the chance of winning a trip to New York when you help raise funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. The site also has hints, tips, recipes and all that goes with an event like this.

This is the Facebook for The Great Irish Bake and of course the Twitter hashtag is: #thegreatirishbake

The Great Irish Bake organisers have shared a recipe with us and also a picture of Donal Skehan with his kids from his first marriage. Some of this might be a lie.

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and
mix through.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice
and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.
5. Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter
or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.
6. Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven
7. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire
wrack.

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